It’s easy to make mistakes on your equine photography website when you’re doing it all on your own. I get it – budgets are low, especially after investing $$$ in all of your photography equipment. But your DIY website doesn’t have to suck! Let’s walk through 5 of the most common website mistakes I see on equine photography websites, and get you the tools you need to fix them.
Your Home Page is a Long Photo Gallery
You’re a photographer, so obviously it makes the most sense to post your work. But adding every single photo you love into a long gallery on your home page isn’t the best way to showcase your talent.
Think of your home page as a sampler plate. You want to provide your potential clients with a little taste of everything they can expect to see on your website. That’s why it’s good to include your bio, your mission statement, client testimonials, and service options.
If you aren’t sure how to lay these things out, try using a template! There are tons of free ones available that you can customize to fit your brand.
(I’ve even created one you can grab over on The Horse Girl Startup.)
Pricing or Investment Guides Are Nowhere to Be Found
I know that the idea of placing pricing directly on your website isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But in my opinion, clients will be more likely to reach out if they *know* your services are within their price range. Showing your prices (or price ranges) can also help save you the time and energy it takes to connect with someone, only to find out their budget doesn’t match up with your offerings.
If you’re super against to displaying your pricing right on your site, you should think about offering a downloadable pricing or investment guide. You can ask for their email address and then set up an automation to send them the guide right away. They’ll get the details, and you’ll get a lead!
The Navigation Menu is Un-Navigatable
We all want our websites to stand out, so I get the thought process behind cute, trendy names in the navigation bar (like experience in place of services). But I’m going to let you in on a little secret: humans like predictability. And by trying to create something cute and fun in your navigation, you’re really just confusing your audience.
You want your navigation menu to be so clear that your potential client could use it while half asleep. Keep it simple, use the obvious terms, and make it straightforward. Your clients (and your inquiry inbox) will thank you.
The Fonts and Design Aren’t Consistent Across the Site
I think this mistake is one that we can all be guilty of at times – especially if we’re constantly working on our websites (like we should be). But in reality, a website that has a million and one different fonts and a design that doesn’t flow can be a huge turn off for potential clients.
Pick fonts, font sizes, and colors that you’ll use across your entire site. Keep them written down somewhere handy and refer to them when needed. If you’re using a page builder like Elementor, you should use and set up global elements. That way your new pages will automatically pull in your styling.
The Images Are Oversized and Slow Down the Website
As a photographer, your goal is to show off your high quality photos. But the problem comes when your potential clients aren’t able to see the photos because they’re taking too long to load.
Large image files not only slow down your website, but they also have a negative impact on your website’s SEO. Having appropriately sized images will increase your site speed while improving your site’s search engine rankings.
The easiest way to do this is to use a program like Photoshop to resize the images before they get uploaded to your website. If you don’t have this option, or often forget this step, you may want to consider using a plugin. WordPress offers a variety of different plugin options that will optimize your images for you. My favorite is WPSmush, but you can research and find an option that works for you.
Fix These Mistakes and Watch Your Equine Photography Inquiries Increase
If you’re guilty of any of the mistakes I listed above, don’t stress out. They’re all pretty easy fixes that you can take care of in an hour or two. And trust me, your business will benefit from these minor changes.
Don’t feel like making these changes on your own (or don’t know how)? No worries. Check out my website design packages to learn more about how I can help.
